One year since a ceasefire was announced, 2 Islamic Relief aid workers in Gaza discuss the ongoing challenges communities and humanitarian workers are facing, and the sense of fear that clouds daily life as Israeli attacks continue.

Layla*: The current situation here in Gaza, with bombing and airstrikes still ongoing, cannot be called a ceasefire. There is no ceasefire in reality. They target displacement camps and crowded areas, so there is still a lot of fear.

We cannot say that we are 100% safe. We cannot go into the streets by car or on foot. We are scared to even leave our homes, and of the noise of the drones above us. Even our homes themselves are unsafe. It’s hard to think you could be next. These are the hardships we’re facing; displacement, fear. The killing is non-stop and we cannot live our lives normally.

Sameer*: When we heard the news about the ceasefire, it brought us some relief that we were still alive after what had happened over the 2 years before. But afterwards we saw that it was not a ceasefire from the Israeli side.

Just the other day, there was an attack nearby. It was in a crowded tent area with women and children around.

Most people are living in crowded tents and damaged buildings. I don’t know if you saw on the news, but a few weeks ago a damaged building collapsed on the sleeping children and families sheltering inside.

Because of the attacks, there is no building good enough to live in. Most of us are living in tents and there is a huge issue with drinking water, for example. It’s nearly impossible to find a good drinking water source, or even an electricity source now.

When I go out walking with my children, any time a car comes up beside us, I fear that there will be an attack. Even when we’re at home, there is fear in every moment. Even leaving to go to work… it’s difficult to explain that feeling because it’s become something in our minds, in our lives, in every move we make.

Layla: I am afraid that I will lose one of my colleagues, that I will lose my life, or lose my family. But this is the situation here.

There is news that some goods are entering Gaza, but nowhere near enough is getting in. You might see on social media that there are restaurants here, coffee shops and so on. People want to live, want to recover, but even when we are trying to recover, I always think there will be something that will disappoint us, something that will interrupt any progress we make.

Since the ceasefire came into place, we can still hear bombing, and Palestinians have been expelled from almost 70% of the Strip, which means we are living in a very overcrowded area. It’s just over 30% of the Strip for more than 2 million people. It’s… I don’t know.

So, the feeling here is still the same as before the ceasefire. We cannot live in just 30% of the Strip, just waiting for them to move forward and occupy other parts of Gaza. A ceasefire with us in 30% of the Strip and still being attacked and denied aid is not actually a ceasefire. They are just pretending that they are maintaining minimum humanitarian standards.

People here are still starving, they still don’t have medical supplies – there is a shortage of diabetic medications and people with chronic diseases cannot find their medicines. The restrictions are very difficult and challenging and we’re still adapting to the situation. We are hoping that, insha’Allah, something will get better.

Sameer: It’s very difficult up to this point for organisations to get aid into Gaza. Only specific commercial goods are allowed to enter, but many essential items are still being blocked and the prices are very high and unaffordable for most people. There are few jobs and a major cash shortage across Gaza.

We’re adapting by providing food vouchers, which allow people to choose what they want from local shops – giving families more choice and dignity, and supporting local businesses.  

We’ve provided food vouchers for many people, especially people with disabilities in Gaza who have been forgotten. Believe me, they’ve been forgotten.

We now support more than 25,000 orphaned children and their guardians. Most of them are living in tents in extremely desperate conditions, but we can’t always visit them because of security. Every time we travel, we have to check if there are any evacuation orders for our location or any bombing or drone strikes in the area.

Click here to read more about Islamic Relief’s programmes in Gaza.

Layla: Maybe after 3 years, Gaza is being forgotten. We don’t have the action we used to see on social media and in the news. There is so much going on in the world, maybe Gaza is being forgotten even though the challenges and shortages are still enormous. Maybe the focus has gone because of the partial ceasefire. Maybe we’ll get a headline in the news – one or two people killed by an airstrike – and that’s it. People just move on to the next story. Gaza is maybe seen as just the last big trend…

But even if it’s hard to travel or deliver aid, as humanitarian workers, we cannot just sit by and watch people suffering. We see them suffering and know we can help them, so we take the risk. In Gaza, just living is a big risk! We cannot see the struggles that people are facing and do nothing. It’s not in our nature or in the people of Gaza’s nature.

Maybe we have it better than other people – the people in tents or on the streets without shelter. Our homes are partially damaged, but at least we still have a home. We still have some walls and a roof to shelter under. We’re not living on the streets or in a camp or tent facing the mice and other creatures. So, we go out to do our work and pray that we will come home safe and sound.

The humanitarian work must go on. We cannot just stop. Even if our intervention cannot help all 2 million people in Gaza, we can still make a difference in people’s lives, and this is the motivation for humanitarian workers.

This is what moves us, this is what encourages us to just keep going, to just bear the hardships we are facing – the mental hardship, the physical, the stress, the exhausting circumstances – and just keep going.

Despite immense hardship, our staff and partners in Gaza continue working to ensure your support reaches the people who need it most. Please help them to continue this lifesaving work. Donate to our Palestine Emergency Appeal today.

*Editor’s note: This conversation is drawn from an interview, which has been edited for clarity and brevity. Our colleagues have been anonymised to protect their safety.